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SLANTS & TRENDS—NEW PRODUCTS AND INFORMATION
ONSTAR TO PILOT USAGE-BASED AUTO INSURANCE
February 1, 2004—OnStar plans to pilot usage-based auto
insurance with GMACI (GMAC Insurance) in three states, including
Indiana, to gauge consumer interest and the program’s operation.
Like similar programs that determine premiums by tracking the
insured’s
mileage—and
offering discounts for fewer vehicles traveled—drivers who have
OnStar and elect to have coverage would get an affinity discount
of as much as 40 percent off the total premium—more than enough
to pay for the OnStar service itself, said OnStar president
Chet Huber. Because
of various state regulations governing insurance, it’s not clear
whether sales of the usage-based auto insurance would become
a revenue stream for dealers. “It certainly provides another compelling
point of differentiation for OnStar,” said Huber. OnStar also has
responded to dealer requests. Now salespeople demo-ing OnStar
can show customers the most salient aspects by having
OnStar reps unlock the doors, say, or locate a vehicle. And
OnStar will automatically activate subscriptions at delivery,
which should help to
satisfy customers.
WHO’S CALLING VENTURES BEYOND AD EFFECTIVENESS MEASURING
February 1, 2004—After surveying more than 500 of its dealer
customers, Who’s Calling, Kirkland, Wash., found that although dealers
appreciated the company’s toll-free call monitoring and measurement
services, they wanted more, said CEO John Stapleton. Requests
included help converting incoming calls into appointments (93 percent);
staff training
(88 percent); assistance with lead follow-up (85 percent);
and help monitoring recorded calls and providing specifics on how to improve
(81 percent).
So, besides adding local-number tracking to its services,
Who’s
Calling is rolling out several services this quarter:
• Dealer Desk, mimics the paper desk log and track leads from
initial contact to final sale;
•
Lead Saver and Lead Generator places “thank you” calls to
each identified sales, service, and parts lead and tries to
set appointments on behalf of the store;
• E-Mail Advantage extracts customer e-mail addresses from the
DMS to send promo e-mails and pre-CSI surveys; and
• Performance Enhancement Training uses actual recorded calls
and reports to assist the dealership sales process.
AUTOBYTEL REPORTS SUCCESS FOR BRANDS AND SELF
February 1, 2004—The Honda Accord and Chevrolet Silverado
topped Autobytel’s annual Consumer Choice Awards as the most requested
passenger car and pickup, respectively, the company said at
the convention. More than 8 million shoppers visit Autobytel
and its three Web sites per
month, and the Consumer Choice Awards are based of the number
of inquiries made about specific vehicles by those shoppers.
Other winners: Chevy Tahoe (SUVs); BMW 3-series (luxury); Honda
Odyssey (minivans);
Ford Mustang (sports cars); and Honda Civic Hybrid
(most fuel-efficient vehicles). Mini and Hummer tied as growth
leaders for requests in 2003, and the Accord was the most requested
vehicle overall. Among the leads Autobytel provides dealers,
it now includes National Do-Not-Call Registry compliance by
integrating the registry info
into it management system and keeping track of how long dealers
can legally call them.
GE SUPRA BRINGS NEW TECHNOLOGY TO LOCK BOXES
February 1, 2004—GE Supra, a division of GE Security,
has introduced Key Advantage, an electronic key box system for auto
dealerships. The new steel lock boxes are accessed by an electronic
key assigned to salespeople on a per-shift basis. Greg Burge, president,
says that the system keeps salespeople with customers and could improve
sales by as many as eight deals per month on average. “It prevents
sales people chasing all over the lot looking for keys, allowing them
to stay with their customers with the ability of having access to any
car on the lot at all times,” says Burge. The boxes also help
avoid insurers’ objections to boxes made of weaker materials and
mechanical opening devices. Supra has supplied locking security systems
for 40-plus years with more than one million lock boxes in use at dealerships
and more than 2.5 million home lock boxes used in the real estate sales.
GE bought Supra two years ago.
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